J. Hurd and P. Williams > outperforming T. Vols

#51
#51
Don't forget Townsend the punter at UF dude is a one man show on ST.
 
#55
#55
He got 6 carries out of the I formation that day vs NWestern...looked pretty good, nothing great. I remember one carry out of the I for Hurd that day....got the carry, huge hole, looked like it was gonna be a huge play.....got through the line of scrimmage, was one on one with a linebacker about 6 yards past the LOS....wound up gaining 6 yards after the linebacker dropped him like a bag of dirt.

All the other stuff I agree with. Jones mismanaged him. I was never one of the guys dogging Hurd and calling him a quitter and whatnot. I’ve onky ever argued about his talent level and abilities as a running back, which I believe were only a fraction of what we were told they were. He was good, he was solid, he was average. He carried the ball the second most times of any running back in school history and is 8th or 9th in rushing yardage all-time, and doesn’t deserve mentioning among our top 10 rbs all-time imo.
Besides the first OL left to him by Dooley, I'd argue that none of Jones' OL's were any better or maybe even as good as the current UT OL. The fact that Dobbs or Hurd gained any yards is a testimony to their ability.
 
#57
#57
If Hurd had stayed he would have graduated last year and been gone anyways.

If he had played out the year he would have been drafted and AK would have been the man the next year. Kelly would have had to wait to be featured, and would still be there now.
 
#58
#58
He quit on his teammates.

Sure, you can blame Butch but he’s not innocent as you make him out to be.
That's my take also. NFL scouts will consider that in any evaluation. JH jumped the gun and made bad judgement. If he does manage to get drafted in later rounds he's outa major bucks compared to what he may have gotten by sticking it out at UT. There's quite a few teams in the NFL who would have had use for his style. On the plus side he has a good work ethic and maybe desire. That could go a long way and he's proven to be versatile. Maybe a "me" player instead of a "team" player though.
 
#59
#59
I never believed they were the villainous, malcontents that the majority of the fan base assigned them as.

They were the smartest ones in retrospect.
They are both putting up numbers on bad teams against lesser competition than they would have faced here... and they will both have to answer for why they quit a team at mid-season rather than play it out during their interviews with player personnel directors before the draft. I hold no ill will against either of them (or good will for that matter) but to act as though quitting a team at mid-season was smart or that they were treated unfairly here is a joke. Hurd was allowed to play the position he wanted to play coming out of high school and given more carries than a clearly better RB in Kamara. Williams was also given a chance to play and thrown the ball... and he had a very costly fumble vs Arkansas and showed questionable hands at other times. I am not defending Jones but neither one of those guys were given a raw deal here and neither one will see a bowl game this year - just like the team they left.
 
#60
#60
They are both putting up numbers on bad teams against lesser competition than they would have faced here... and they will both have to answer for why they quit a team at mid-season rather than play it out during their interviews with player personnel directors before the draft. I hold no ill will against either of them (or good will for that matter) but to act as though quitting a team at mid-season was smart or that they were treated unfairly here is a joke. Hurd was allowed to play the position he wanted to play coming out of high school and given more carries than a clearly better RB in Kamara. Williams was also given a chance to play and thrown the ball... and he had a very costly fumble vs Arkansas and showed questionable hands at other times. I am not defending Jones but neither one of those guys were given a raw deal here and neither one will see a bowl game this year - just like the team they left.

I should have checked with you before posting. Thanks for straightening me out.
 
#65
#65
They are both just as non relevant in the big scheme of college football as we are.... so......meh..... whoopie
 
#68
#68
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Hurd voted off the team by the players, and that's what inspired his transfer? I think it was more of a case of the team not wanting him here after he basically quit during a game. Even if he had stuck around, would the guys still play hard for him? He pretty much showed the team who he was playing for, and it wasn't for them. He definitely needed a fresh start with a fresh locker room because our players couldn't stand the guy. I don't see how any coach could have salvaged that relationship. Not defending Jones either. His management of this program was abysmal and his decision to play Hurd over Kamara will go down as one of the greatest blunders in UT coaching history.
 
#69
#69
If you'll remember though... his whole problem with Jones started after the bowl game in which they lined him up in the I and had a lot of success. I believe it was reported that Jones had committed to running more I or ace formations that would feature what Hurd did best. Instead, Jones went even more to the spread and featured Dobbs. Right decision or wrong decision... he wasn't straight with Hurd who had other options at that point.

I think in a good I offense he would have been a very good back. In any form of spread then he's probably doing what he should do.

When Kamara got here Hurd should have transitioned to a TE that got a few runs in during games. Imagine 2016 with Hurd at TE, Kamara and Kelly at RB, Dobbs at QB, Jennings and Malone at WR. That 5-6 potential NFL players on the field at the same time.
 
#70
#70
I watched some of the Baylor game this weekend and Hurd was in Beast Mode. They lined him up alot of different ways. Not just as a WR. He was even lined up as RB and took snaps as an RB. He looked really good. In fact he is in the top 5 in BIG 12 receiving yards. I wasn't happy with the fact that he left or the way he left BUT I have always thought he would be successful as a WR/TE. He is just too gifted of an athlete to not be successful with enough reps. I also thought for sure he would be a NFL RB no questions asked so that is why I thought the change was such a crazy move. I also understand the life expectancy of an NFL running back is low so I guess it makes sense for him to want to change positions. Thats why Le'Veon Bell is pushing so hard to be paid as an WR instead of an RB. The fact that he wanted to change doesn't surprise me but he has to be the first player to change positions when he was already very successful at his current position. At the time of his change he was a starter in the SEC, most likely going to break team record for rushing yards in a career, and most likely going to be an NFL RB. Who knows if his gamble will work out for him or not but he is looking REALLY good so far. He may not be a VFL but I liked watching him while he was here. Good luck young man.
 
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